Two Suns
by SilverWing321
Summary: Kymma is in for the shock of her life when she finds out she is a demigod, a daughter of Apollo. She is taken to Camp Calf-Blood, the only safe place for people like her. But soon, she finds out the camp is no longer safe for the children of Apollo, for the sun god is nowhere to be seen and a force is rising; a force ready to replace Kymma's father and finish off all his children.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson or HoO *pout, pout***

Kymma really wanted to know why these things were attacking her. She notched another arrow and pointed it skywards, at the creature. She had concluded that it was a griffon, but there was only one problem with that guess, griffons didn't exist. She would have easily sat down for weeks on end trying to figure out why she was seeing griffons, but she didn't have time for that right now, for the griffon seemed to have only one intent; killing her. Standing on the roof of an old apartment building, she aimed her arrow at the griffon. It was hovering directly in front of the sun, but for some reason, the sun had never bothered her. She didn't even squint. It began to dive at her, its talons bared. She let her arrow fly and it pierced it in the wing. It began to fall, but not fast enough for the impact to kill it. It landed a few meters from her, cracking the old stone roof of the apartment building. Great, she thought. I'll get blamed for that, just like I always am. The griffon pulled itself onto its feet and staggered towards Kymma, but she launched her third arrow and it hit the Griffon in the chest. The griffon exploded into dust. There was no dead corpse, no evidence that the griffon was ever there, just yellow sand. She rubbed her eyes, maybe it was another hallucination.

She heard gasps from below, and looked down to see the inhibitors of the apartment building staring up at her. She ran to the stairways that lead off the roof. She wanted to be well away from the 'scene of the crime' by the time the police arrived. As she ran down the sidewalk she stuffed her quiver of arrows and bow into her backpack, and thought about what had happened. Before school, she had brought her bow and arrows, despite her mother's pleas to not bring them. But Kymma had had a hunch that she was going to be attacked, and more often than not, her hunches were right. Sure enough, while she was walking home, the griffon had swooped down out of nowhere and attacked her. Thanks to her ADHD reflexes, she had dodged its first attack. But what was strange, was the nearer her twelfth birthday drew, the more and more this kept happening. Even before this year, she had been kicked out of every school she was in because of an incident like this. When she was in third grade getting lunch, one of the cafeteria ladies had suddenly grew tentacles and tried to lock her in the oven. In fourth grade, her science teacher took her aside for private tutoring every week, and every lesson, she 'accidently' spilled some sort of lethal chemical on Kymma. In fifth grade, three of her classmates had grown fangs and tried to eat her in the bathroom. Now, this year, in sixth grade, monsters seemed to attack her everywhere she went. And she had a feeling that there was someone else who try to as well.

There was a 'visiting student' at school, he would always sit in her classroom, but never pay the slightest bit of attention. He was either tinkering with paperclips and rubber bands, or staring at her intensely.

"Maybe he has a crush on you!" one of the girls had whispered to her excitedly during class. But Kymma knew that wasn't the case. She had tried to point out that he was way older than the class, and should be in a different grade, but whenever she said this, the person she was talking to would either stare at her, confused, or say he was their age. He wore one of those stupid badges that read,

**Hi, My Name Is: **Ray Vasilios

Still thinking about the strange boy, she ran into her house and rushed upstairs to her room.

"Kymma, honey, are you okay?" she heard her mother's voice coming from downstairs.

"I'm fine, Mom!" she called back. The dumped her backpack on the floor, took out her bow and arrows, and stashed them in the closet. Rushing to the mirror, she studied her reflection to see the damage the griffon had done to her. Her short, brown hair was messy as always, sticking out in every direction, and her dark brown eyes looked positively wild. Nothing much about her appearance was suspicious, she had badly scuffed knees and a cut on her shoulder, but that wasn't enough for the police to ask her about if they interrogated her.

There was a knock on the front door, and Kymma immediately knew who it was. The police had come to talk about what she had done.

She heard her mom and the officials talking downstairs. Not daring to move a muscle in case she made noise, she sat in her room for what seemed for eternity. She strained to hear what they were saying, but they were too far away. Half and hour later, she heard the front door slamming. They had left.

"Kymma!" called her mom, her voice stern. Kymma sighed and headed downstairs. Her mother was sitting on the couch with the we-need-to-talk look on her face. Kymma sat down across from her.

"What is it Mom?" she said innocently.

Her mother sighed. "Kymma, three years ago, you were diagnosed with schizophrenia. That means that-"

"I know, I know. That means I see things that aren't really there, and I shouldn't act on them." Said Kymma, she had memorized the 'schizophrenia' lecture.

"The police told me you climbed a building on private property, killed an albatross with a weapon that no eleven year old should have, and damaged the building in the process."

"Mom, it wansn't an albatross," said Kymma, "It was a griffon." As soon as she said it, she realized how stupid that sounded.

Her mom sighed. "Sweetheart, there's no such things as griffons." She said, "Or any sort of monsters of that sort. You know that when you see something strange like that, it's a hallucination."

"Mom, if you saw things the way I did, you wouldn't think it was a hallucination." Said Kymma.

Her Mom looked sadly at Kymma, as if she was seeing a deseased thing that could not be cured. "Kymma, I want you to have a normal childhood, and I don't want to send you to a special school, but if this continues, I might have to."

"It won't happen again." Said Kymma firmly. _Or at least, not intentionally._ She thought to herself.

The next day, the bullies at Murkwood Middle School were all fighting to get a chance to tease her.

"Ooh, look, it's Crazy-Girl."

"I heard she climbed a building like a monkey yesterday."

"What monster did you slay this time, Crazy-Girl?"

The taunts followed her all the way down the hall, but she had learned to ingnore them. She calmly headed to her locker where she found her only friend, Allison (Ally) putting away her bookbag.

"Hey Ally." Said Kymma brightly.

"Hi Kymma. Are they teasing you again?" asked Ally. Kymma shrugged.

"I'll have to get used to it."

"Don't listen to what they say, they have as much sense as a bag of trash." Kymma smiled, but then remembered why she had befriended Ally in the first place,

"You see the things I do, don't you? You know it wasn't an albatross!" said Kymma, hope rising in her chest. Ally could always give her reassurence that she wasn't completely crazy.

"_Shhh!_" whispered Ally urgently, looking around to see if anyone had heard. "Can you possibly say it any louder?!"

"Well it's true! Did you, or did you not see a griffon? When you walk home, you pass by that apartment building! You should have seen everything! Was it an albatross, or a griffon?!"

Ally sighed, "I saw a griffon, happy?" Relief washed over Kymma, if Ally had also seen a griffon, it _must _have been there.

"Why don't you ever stand up for me?" said Kymma, the smallest bit of anger creeping into her voice. "Why don't you say you saw a griffon too? If two people saw the same thing, it can't be a hallucination!"

"I'm sorry, Kymma, but I'm never going to admit I'm seeing the things you are." Said Ally firmly, "You're my best friend, and I wanna' stand up for you, but I also don't want to be called crazy!" and she ran off before Kymma could say anything.

Standing by the lockers, alone, Kymma wanted to be angry with Ally. She wanted to say she wasn't a real friend, and should have stood up for her. But she couldn't, because if their situations were reversed, Kymma would probably not openly declare she was crazy too.

Slamming her locker door, she noticed the visiting student, Ray, watching her. He walked up to her, and Kymma braced for more teasing.

"So is Crazy-Girl what you _like_ to be called?" he asked.

"Is this how you always start conversations?" She replied. He grinned,

"Answer my question and I'll answer yours." He said. Kymma sighed.

"No, it's what bullies call me." She said.

"And no, I don't always start conversations that way." He said, "So what's your name?"

"Kymma." She said, shaking his outstreached hand.

"So what _did_ you do yesterday, there's rumors all around the school."

Kymma sighed. "In case no one's told you, I'm schizophrenic. I thought I saw a monster, and killed it. It was just a bird."

Ray nodded. "Are you sure it was all a hallucination?"

Kymma picked up her math books. "I don't want to talk to you, Vasilios. You're not a normal kid, and if I didn't know any better, I would say you're a monster."

At this, Ray's grin widened. "You got that right, I'm not a normal kid. But lets not jump to the conclusion that I'm a monster either."

Kymma was getting very creeped out by now, and a little bit scared. She hurried to her math class, leaving Ray behind.

The next few classes of the day was mainly uneventfull, but Kymma couldn't concentrate. She kept looking over at Ray, sitting in the back of the classroom, tinkering away with paperclips, sticky notes, and rubber bands.

After English class when the kids were dismissed for lunch, she saw Ray hurry over to the boys bathroom. She had wanted to talk to him, so she waited outside.

While she was waiting, she could hear Ray talking to someone. That was strange, no one else was in the bathroom as far she knew. She listened into their convesrsation.

"Does she know anything yet?" said the voice of a man, Kymma didn't recognize.

"No, but she _has _seen monsters, and surprising ly, she's been able to handle them. She's passing them off as hallucinations." Said Ray. Kymma's eyes widened. He was talking about her! She listened more intently.

"That's good." Said the first voice. "But eventually, we'll have to get her out of there. She's reaching the age where she needs to be protected."

"There have already been three trolls that have tried to get into the school." Said Ray, "I took care of them."

"Very good, I don't doubt that you can handle whatever tries to harm her, but she must be taken to the sanctuary before she turns twelve, he scent will reach it's peak then."

"She turns twelve in a week, I'll tell her tommorow, or maybe day after." Said Ray, "Listen, I have to go, someone might hear me."

"Very well, keep her safe." Said the first voice.

Kymma heard footsteps coming towards the bathroom door. She breifly thought about hurrying away, but then decided against it. She needed to know who Ray Vasilios was, and why he was here. She would confront him.

**Hi guys! What do you think of the story so far, love it? Hate it? Please review, even a few words are appreciated.**

**-Silverwing321**


	2. Chapter 2

When Ray opened the bathroom door, Kymma had her notched arrow less than two inches from his nose.

"Holy Hades!" he cried, stumbling back in fright. "Kymma, what in Zeus's name are you doing!?"

"No more games, Vasilios," she said, "Who are you? And why are you here?"

Ray grinned. "First things first. Put… The bow… Down."

After hesitating for a second, she obliged. He had made it clear in the conversation with the other man he wasn't here to hurt her. She held the bow and arrow at her side and Ray sighed with relief.

"Secondly, I don't know what you're talking about. You know who I am, my name is Ray Vasilios, as for why I'm here, I'm a visiting student. I'm here to learn, like everyone else." He said.

Kymma snorted. "I want real answers, Vasilios. I heard you talking to…that other person in the bathroom."

"You did?" he asked, "Dang it."

"The monsters I'm seeing aren't my imagination, are they? Are they why you're here? And what did you mean, 'my scent will be strongest when I turn twelve'?"

Ray grinned even wider. "Eavesdropping, eh? Well that isn't very nice." Kymma just stared stonily at him. Finally, he sighed. "Kymma, this isn't the time to tell you, there's too much to explain."

"Well, get started then." Said Kymma.

"Not, here." Said Ray. "Tell you what; I'll come over to your house after school."

"Sure." Said Kymma, "I'll write down the address-"

"No need, I know where you live." Said Ray.

"_What?"_ cried Kymma. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break, and Ray hurried away.

After what felt like an eternity, school was over. Kymma hurried out of class to find Ray. She found him by the school entrance.

"I walk home every day." Said Kymma, "You okay with walking?"

"Sure" said Ray.

"Well look what we have here" said a fifth eight grader Kymma didn't recognize, "Crazy-Girl and the Weirdo, walking home together." Rays face began to turn red.

"Just ignore them." Said Kymma quietly. They began to walk along the sidewalk. "Sorry I got you a new nick name; anyone associated with 'Crazy-Girl' is automatically a 'weirdo'."

"Do the teachers not do _anything_ to prevent bullying?" asked Ray, his fists clenched.

"Not really, no." said Kymma, "I just get used to it. Being schizophrenic, I suppose I _am_ crazy."

"But you're not schizophrenic." Ray said firmly, "All those monsters you see, they're actually real. No other humans can see them because of the mist, but you're not entirely human."

Kymma stopped where she was on the sidewalk, completely confused. "Is this all some kind of practical joke?" she finally said, "Or are you just insulting me by calling me inhumane?"

Ray sighed, "Neither. That's why I wanted to talk to you after school, there's too much to explain there."

Kymma scrutinized his face, and after a moment siad, "Okay, you're not lying. So what do you mean, I'm not all human?"

Ray sighed, "It would have been simpler to just show you the orientation film."

"What 'orientation film?"

"Oh, uh, nothing." Ray said quickly. "I better start explaining, you know all the Gods the ancient Greeks believed in?" he asked

Kymma raised her eyebrows, "Yeah', but if you tell me you're a God, you're the crazy one, and you can walk home alone."

Ray laughed, "God? Me? Holy Hades, no. Although they did offer to make me a God..."

"_What?"_

"Never mind, when it becomes important I'll tell you about it." He said dismissively, "Anyway, where were we, oh, the Greek gods! Yeah, they're real, alive, and up and kicking."

After a few moments of silence, Kymma said, "Isn't this just perfect. Two crazy people walking home together. Why did I think you had any answers?" she walked faster, leaving Ray behind. Ray quickly jogged back up to her.

"You wanted answers, and here they are. It's the truth." He said irritably.

"I'm afraid I'm just not buying that." Said Kymma, "There are plenty of other explanations as to why I see weird monsters, and Greek Gods existing is just …impossible." she trailed off, mentally scolding herself. Why had she thought Ray might know the truth? He was completely mad!

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, they do exist, you and I are living proof of it." He said.

"And how, may I ask are we 'living proof' that the ancient fantasy Gods exist?"

"Sometimes, they come down from Olympus, and mate with humans. And when they have kids, those kids, half human-half god kids, are demigods. Those kids are us." Said Ray, he drew himself up to his full height and said, "I'm the son of Hephaestus, the god of fire and forges."

After another moment of shocked silence, Kymma said, "You're story just gets crazier and crazier by the minute. You're not the son of Hafa-whatever his name is. You're mad. And even if you were right, wouldn't I know if I was a demigod? My mom would at least _tell_ me!"

"Not necessarily, the Gods don't always tell their husbands or wives what they are. And if you're mom _does_ know, she might not have told you. The less you know, the fewer monsters you attract." Said Ray.

"Demigods attract monsters?" asked Kymma. The question was out before she could stop herself. _'Why am I buying this stuff?'_ She thought to herself, _'This is complete nonsense!'_ And yet, in some strange way, it seemed to make sense. It explained why her father had gone away when she was a child and why she was seeing monsters.

"Yup." Said Ray, "It really sucks, doesn't it? They can smell you, smell the blood of the Gods. When you reach about the age of twelve, your scent reaches its peak, and they'll be all over you before you can say Zeus. There's only one safe place for people like us, well, two safe places, really, but you won't be going to the other one. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood? What's that?"

"It's another word for demigod, isn't this your apartment?" Ray said, stopping suddenly. Kymma was so involved in their conversation she hadn't realized they had reached their destination.

"Oh, yeah." She said, walking up the steps and unlocking the front door. Ray followed her inside. "Mom! I'm home!" she hollered.

"How was school, honey? I'll be down in a minute!" she called back from upstairs.

"I brought a…um…_friend_ with me." Said Kymma, plopping down on the living room sofa. Ray followed the suit.

"You did?" said her mom, who was rushing down the stairs. She caught sight of Ray and put on a huge, cheesy grin. "Oh, Hello dear, I'm Susan, Kymma's mother." She said, shaking Ray's hand.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said politely.

"This is Ray Vasilios." Said Kymma.

"I'll go get you two some snacks." She said, hurrying over to the kitchen, leaving Ray and Kymma alone.

"I don't think she know that my dad was a…god." Said Kymma, choosing to buy Ray's story for the time being. "She always tells me I'm schizophrenic."

"She might just be trying to protect you." Said Ray, looking at the kitchen door where Kymma's mother had vanished, "Like I said before, the less you know, the less strong your scent is."

"But now that I know so much-"

"You'll have to come to camp immediately." Said Ray. He stood up and began to pace around the room. "Ηλίθιος, Ηλίθιος"** ("Stupid! Stupid!")** he said to himself "Why did I tell you so much?!" "That's why you were sent to me." Said Kymma, "You needed to bring me to camp." Ray nodded. "Usually we send satyrs to fetch half-bloods-" _"__Satyrs?"_ "-but ever since the second titan war, so many new demigods have been popping up, we needed the half-bloods to help out. This is my first fetching assignment." Just then, Kymma's mother came back into the room holding a platter of chocolate chip cookies. "Ma'am, I've told Kymma about her other parent." Said Ray as soon as she saw her. Kymma's mother turned deathly pale and her hands began to shake so much Kymma thought she would drop the platter. "T-they told me she would have to leave soon, I suppose you're here to take her to that camp?" Ray nodded curtly.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kymma suddenly said, her mind reeling in shock, "This is all real, _and you knew?" _ She asked, glaring at her mother.

"Kymma, honey, I didn't want to tell you. The more you know-"

"The easier it is for monsters to find me, I know that." Said Kymma, rolling her eyes. "but when were you planning to tell me the truth?!"

"We don't have time for this." Said Ray, "We need to get you to camp, right away."

"How long will I be there?" asked Kymma.

"That depends on how powerful you are."

"What about my school?" she asked, "Won't people notice if I just suddenly disappear in the middle of the year?"

"I'll take care of it." Said her mother, "I knew this time would come soon, so I made all the arrangements beforehand, I'll tell the school I transferred you to an institution for schizophrenic people."

"You faked new school records for me?!" asked Kymma in awe, she had never seen this side of her mother before. She had always thought her mom had no faith in her 'schizophrenic' daughter.

"Ma'am, I need to take Kymma right away, she knows too much to stay in the mortal world much longer." Said Ray, grabbing Kymma's arm, "Can you take us to camp?" Her mother nodded sadly.

"Let's go." She said, heading to the front door.

"What? No!" said Kymma, pulling her arm from Ray's grasp, "I just met you a few hours ago, and now you expect me to go with you to some camp? You're a stranger to me!"

"Kymma, you have to trust Ray." Said her mom, opening the front door, "More and more monsters have been attacking you all year, he's the only one that can get you to safety now." She said. Grudgingly, Kymma picked up her bow and quiver of arrows and followed her mom and Ray out the door and to the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Kymma had never seen her mom drive so fast, and was frankly astounded that her mom didn't scold her when she didn't put her seatbelt on. They drove and drove until the highways eventually succumbed to country roads. The three of them sat in silence during the trip until a piercing howl from behind the car broke the silence.

"What was that?" asked Kymma, looking behinds them warily. Her mother must have slammed the accelerator because Kymma felt the car speed up.

"Probably a hellhound." Said Ray, looking out the rear window.

"A hell-what now?"

"You can learn the names of ancient Greek monsters at camp, for now just focus on either not getting eaten or running away." Said Ray. Kymma decided to focus on the latter.

"How much farther?" she asked.

"Not too far, look for a sign that says _'Delphi Strawberry Service'_, that's our cover name." Another loud howl rang through the air behind them; Kymma could have sworn it was getting louder. She clutched her bow so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"There!" said Ray suddenly, the car screeched to a stop at the base of a hill. An old, faded wooden sign read **_Delphi Strawberry Se vice'_****, **the _r _in _service _was too faded to be seen.

"Come on." said Ray, sprinting up the hill with surprising speed. Kymma grabbed her bow and was about to run after him when her mom called from the front,

"Kymma, sweetheart, be careful. Look after yourself."

"Aren't you coming?" asked Kymma, confused. Her mother smiled sadly.

"Camp Half-Blood isn't for mortals. I can't go with you." Kymma didn't know what to think. She had never been close to her mother, she had actually resented her for thinking she was crazy. But she now knew that was all an act and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

"I'll try to come back. I'll visit you!" said Kymma, trying to sound upbeat.

"Kymma, look out!" Rays voice suddenly called from behind her. She yelped as she turned around to see a huge, black dog barreling towards her. Leaping out of the car, she tried to notch an arrow on her bow, but the dog was too quick. It hurled through the air and Kymma cried out in pain as it landed smack-dab on her chest. There was a crack of one of her ribs breaking, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Its claws dug into her torso, and it opened its jaws wide revealing rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. _I'm a goner,_ she thought.

"Hey Dogbreath!" called Ray from behind me. The closed its mouth and looked up at Ray. He was charging down the hill holding a hastily tinkered machine. It was a small; box-like that was about as big as her head made out of…paper clips, sticky notes, and rubber bands? _Yup, I'm dead_ she thought.

Ray continued to charge down the hill and the dog jumped off her chest and began to charge towards Ray. As soon as they were within ten meters of each other, Ray threw the contraption at the dog. As it flew through the air, it began to expand until it was a net. Kymma watched in awe as it landed directly on the dog, entangling it badly. Ray rushed up to the dog and took out a small, bronze knife concealed in his boot. The dog exploded into dust as he stabbed into its neck.

After taking a moment to admire his handiwork, Ray turned to Kymma, who was staring at him in awe.

"You just met your first hellhound." Said Ray grimly.

"How did you make that net so quickly?" asked Kymma, still astounded at what she saw.

"Hey, my dad's the god of forges, so I can make things pretty well." He said proudly, "Come on, Camp Half-Blood is right on top of this hill. You can get your broken rib all fixed up there."

Kymma turned to say goodbye to her mother one last time, but she wasn't there. She had driven off during the fight. Sighing, turned back to Ray. "Okay, let's go." She said, starting up the hill and wincing at the stabbing pains in her chest.

There was a big pine tree at the top of the hill, overlooking a huge, peaceful looking camp. Near the base of the hill were a volleyball court and a big, blue, country style house. In the distance she could see a lake and a bunch of cabins making an oval shape around a huge bonfire.

"Ray! How'd your first fetching mission go?" asked a voice from above them. Kymma looked up to see a boy perched in the branches of the pine tree.

"Great." Replied Ray, "This is Kymma. Kymma, this is Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo."

"HI! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood!" said Lee brightly.

"Hi." Said Kymma, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Let's get you to the infirmary; after your ribs are fixed we can give you the official tour." Said Ray. Kymma was still looking around in awe. Was this where she belonged?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! Before I start, I just wanna' give a special thanks to Water Owl, I was planning to discontinue the story since it had been up for a while and very few people had read it. You inspired me, so thanks! Anyway, on to the chapter!**

**-Silverwing321**

When she got out of the sickbay with two newly repaired ribs, Kymma was eager to look around the camp.

"Not just yet." Said Ray, "I should introduce you to the camp activities director."

They walked down to the big, blue house (which the campers simply called 'The Big House') and Kymma saw a man in a wheelchair sitting on the porch talking to another camper. As they neared the big house, the girl ran off to the one of the cabins that was completely covered in flowers and plants.

"Chiron!" Ray called as soon as he was within shouting distance of the man. He had a kind, wrinkled face and brown hair and a beard.

"Ray, welcome back. I assume the fetching mission went well." He said in a deep, very familiar voice. Kymma knew she had heard that voice before, although she couldn't remember where.

"Yeah, this is Kymma." Said Ray.

"Is she unclaimed?" asked Chiron. Ray nodded. "That's strange." Said Chiron thoughtfully, "You're about the age where you should be claimed."

"What do you mean, claimed?" asked Kymma.

"Claimed by your godly parent. Basically they send a sign to say say you're they're son or daughter."

"This is probably very confusing,' said Chiron kindly, "Ray, will you show her the orientation-"

"No need." Said Ray, "She heard my iris message to you at the school and, uh, farced my to explain everything." Kymma suddenly remembered where she had heard Chiron's voice; when she was eavesdropping on Ray.

"Really?" asked Chiron, raising an eyebrow at Kymma as if she had just given a correct, yet unusual answer to a test question. "Well I suppose I can get out of my wheelchair form then." He said and he began to stand up, and Kymma gasped as he rose up to six feet tall, seven feet, eight feet! The blanket on his legs fell away to reveal that from waist down, he was a pure white horse. Racking her brains, she remembered that a centaur named Chiron had trained tons of ancient, Greek heroes, like Hercules and Achilles.

"Are you _the _Chiron?" she asked, "The Chiron from all the myths that trained all those heroes?"

Chiron smiled and nodded.

"But, that would make you more than a thousand years old!" she said, disbelief ringing through her voice.

"The Gods granted me my wish, that as long as I was needed to train heroes, I would be immortal."

Kymma stared at the centaur with a newfound respect.

"Well then, welcome to Camp Half-Blood. Today will be your orientation day and tomorrow you will start your classes. Ray, kindly give Kymma a tour of the camp." Said Chiron, and he headed into the Big House.

Kymma hoped the child protection services never found this camp, because they were sure to go ballistic. There was a rock climbing wall with lava, a sword fighting arena, archery practice, a monster infested woods, and little to no adult supervision. In other words, Kymma loved it.

If Kymma had any doubts about demigods and gods being real, they were instantly erased as soon as she got a good look at the camp. There were half human half goat things roaming around (after being pelted by acorns she learned to call them satyrs and not 'donkey-people'), tree and water nymphs living in the forests and lake, and there was one kid in the Hephaestus cabin who was casually bouncing a fireball around his hands.

"Each cabin represents one god." Ray said when they were touring the cabins area, "Normally you stay in your godly parent's cabin, but you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin until you get claimed."

"I thought Artemis never vowed to be a maiden." Said Kymma, looking at the silvery Artemis cabin. "How does she have kids?"

"She doesn't." Said Ray, "Neither does Hestia, Hera, but we keep those cabins up anyways, just as honorary cabins. If we don't, they'll probably get mad." Kymma was about to ask what was wrong with that, but quickly realized there was everything wrong with making a goddess mad.

"You can head over to the Hermes cabin and get settled there." He said, escorting her to cabin eleven. Inside the cabins, there were rows of bunk beds lining the walls, most, if not all the beds were messy and unmade. She counted a total of seven sleeping bags on the floor. Ray seemed to notice the sleeping bags too, and he frowned, confused.

"That's strange, ever since the second Titan war, the gods promised to claim their kids. There haven't been this many unclaimed kids for a while." He said, then he shrugged. "They can be forgetful, I'm gonna' go, you make yourself at home here, sleeping bags are in that closet." He said, pointing to a small closet at the far end of the room. Then, he sprinted off to the Hephaestus cabin. A tiny bubble of worry formed in her mind, what if she never got claimed? What if she stayed in the Hermes cabin forever, not knowing who her father was?

_'Don't think like that.' _She thought to herself firmly, _'you just found out your dad is an immortal god, he as one of the busiest jobs in the world! Of course he might forget for a little while.' _She took out a sleeping bag and laid it on the floor. She was about to put her bow and arrow down next to it, but quickly thought better of it, considering Hermes was the god of thieves.

She toured the camp by herself for a while longer, stopping be the archery practice area to talk to the student. She gasped when she saw one bot aim his arrow, shoot a bulls-eye, aim another arrow, and split the previous arrow in half.

"How did you do that?" she asked in awe. The boy shrugged.

"Son of Apollo, god of Archery. I've got a knack at that kind of thing."

"Yeah, but that was amazing! You still your own arrow in half! I've only seen that in the book _'Robin Hood'_!" protested Kymma.

"Robin Hood was a son of Apollo." Said the boy. That was when Kymma learned that when you're at camp Half-Blood, you should believe every 'fiction' book you read, because it's probably real.

After asking around, she learned a rough outline of the history of the camp. It was founded years ago, the pine tree at the top of the hill held the spirit of a girl and it protected the camp's borders, that girl was later freed and became a hunter of Artemis, there was a big shot named Percy Jackson who lead the second titan war, then lead _another_ war with the giants and mother earth (mother earth was evil? Who knew!) Along with six other demigods. She also learned that there were two other camps for heroes, camp Jupiter for Roman demigods (There were _Roman_ gods too!?) and camp Fish-Blood which was an underwater camp for mermen heroes. No one had actually been there except for Percy Jackson, who also happened to be the son of Poseidon.

In other words, Kymma's life had been turned upside-down and sideways. As it turned out, she loved having an upside-down life.

That night at the dining pavilion, Kymma noticed the campers were burning a portion of their food before eating.

"Why are they doing that?" she asked Ray, who was passing by the Hermes table. He had been explaining everything about camp to her, and Kymma believed he was her first friend at camp.

"They're burning offerings to the gods." He said, "You always need to do that before you eat."

""Oh, oops." She said, quickly getting up from the Hermes table and falling into step beside him as they headed to the fireplace. She watched Ray carefully as he dropped a buttery roll from his plate into the fire and murmured "For the gods." And then headed back to the Hephaestus table. She approached the fireplace next and dropped a piece of meat into the fire, also muttering "For the gods." He was about to walk away, but hesitated. Then, she dropped a bit of her fruit into the fire, quietly saying "For my dad, whoever you are…" As she said it, she felt a warm ray of sunlight hit her face, warming her entire body. She looked up to see if the sun had come out, but the day was just as cloudy as ever. She must have imagined it.

That night at the campfire, the Apollo cabin lead the sing along as usual. Ray had told Kymma the fire matched the mood of the campers, but it was still a sight to behold. The fire leapt fifty feet off the ground, glowing pure, bright gold. All the campers sang along happily, screeching the words of the song horribly off tune. Just as the song was about to end, the fire suddenly turned bright red and began to expand twice its height and width. The campers were suddenly silent, watching the fire in awe.

"Is this normal?" Kymma shakily asked Ray. He shook his head, his eyes wide. The fire began to move, taking shape until it was in the form of a man. There were gasps from the crowd. The fire glowed even brighter, so bright even the Apollo kids had to squint. Kymma couldn't make out the man's face, but his very presence filled her with dread. He radiated heat and intense power. Then he began to speak. His voice was deep and throaty, but Kymma heard every word.

_"Apollo was an unworthy successor. The true sun god shall rise. Apollo spawn must perish!"_

The man glowed even brighter, and with a bang, he disappeared. The fire returned to normal, only now, it was a mere two feet high and was a dull shade of gray. Everyone stared at the place where the man had vanished with shock and horror. For a moment, there was only silence; then blood curdling screams erupted around the campfire. Kymma looked around in terror to see that a ring of flames had formed around every child of Apollo. They screamed, trying to get away, but they seemed to be trapped in the rings, unable to get out. Kymma saw the child of Poseidon, Percy Jackson, dousing the flames several times with huge jets of water, but they just kept popping up again, growing taller and taller until they were as tall as the Apollo campers themselves. Kymma had one last glimpse of their terrified faces and then the flames seemed to swallow them whole. Then, as suddenly as the appeared, they vanished, leaving no trace of the children if Apollo. They had been abducted.

**Dun, dun, dun! Okay, from here on the story is gonna' get much more exciting. Tell me what you think so far! Also, I intended for Kymma and Ray to be friends and nothing more. Should I try to put a bit of romance in? Tell me what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys!**

**Before we start, I would like to dedicate/detonate (Inside joke) this chapter to Water Owl, she helped me think of what to write next, as well as helped me with a new character. **

The campfire burned low and black as the campers stared in horror at the place the Apollo demigods had vanished. For a moment, no one spoke. Then, there was an outburst of speech. Panicked cries and confused shouts. But the eruption of talking was quickly silenced, yet again. Kymma looked around for the cause of the silence, wondering who else had been abducted, until she realized that everyone's attention was fixed on her, as well as the seven unclaimed half-bloods from the Hermes cabin. They all had huge, glowing symbols over their heads. A golden lyre, the symbol of Apollo. Kymma knew she had just been claimed. After a few moments, the symbols faded away, leaving Kymma and the other, newly claimed campers astounded. Eventually, Chiron broke the silence. "Councilors, gather in the Big House for a meeting. The remaining children of Apollo should come as well." He said grimly, then he trotted off towards the Big house, followed by the cabin councilors. Kymma reluctantly joined her seven other newfound siblings and they set off towards the Big House -Line Break- Seated around the ping pong table, the councilors began to throw theories of what had happened out, each more unlikely than the next. "Maybe it was some sort of power hungry demigod?" "It was probably the Hermes cabin playing some sort of trick." "It's Gaea! She's back!" "Don't be stupid, Gaea isn't back!" The bickering continued until Chiron came into the room with the Aphrodite cabin councilor, Piper. She simply said "Quiet everyone." And Kymma felt as if her lips were glued shut.

"A new threat has arisen." Chiron said gravely, "we can only guess what it is, so for now, we must focus on retrieving the abducted campers."

"The abductor was probably a minor god who wanted more power." Said one of the councilors, "Did you hear what that flame-man said, _The true sun god shall rise._ Maybe he-or she-wanted to replace Apollo."

"If whoever it is _does _want to replace Apollo, I doubt they're a _new_ force." Said the councilor of the Athena cabin, a girl named Annabeth, "He also said _Apollo was an unworthy successor_, he specifically said successor, meaning he was older than Apollo."

"Could it be Helios?" Kymma suddenly asked, "He was the first sun god before Apollo."

_'Wow,'_ Kymma thought to herself, '_Who'd have guessed I know a bit of Greek mythology'_

"That makes sense." Said one of her siblings named Jonas, "Helios wants to overthrow Apollo and become the sun god again, and to make sure no demigods interfered, he got all the children of Apollo out of the way."

"Then why didn't he take you?" asked Percy.

"We weren't claimed, so he might not have known we were children of Apollo." said Kymma.

"But where did he take the _other _children of Apollo." Said the councilor of the Hephaestus cabin, Leo Valdez. Kymma's eyes widened when she saw his hands were smoking, as if they were about to catch flame.

"We need a quest." Said the councilor of Dionysus cabin, Pollux "To find the Apollo campers and bring them back." There were nods of agreement from around the table, and Kymma noticed everyone's heads immediately turned to Percy Jackson. Kymma supposed that made sense, as the guy had lead two wars.

Percy seemed to realize everyone was waiting for him to volunteer for the quest, because he quickly said "Oh no, I'm staying out of this one. I don't want to be dragged into another war. Besides, wouldn't it make more sense for a child of Apollo to lead the quest?"

"Percy brings up a good point." Said Chiron, he turned his head to face Kymma, "Kymma, would you be willing to lead the quest?" Kymma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Me?" she asked, her voice coming out an octave higher than she would have liked, "Why me?"

"The councilor of the Apollo cabin, Will Solace, is missing, making you the acting councilor. You are the oldest out of the remaining Apollo campers, are you not?" he said calmly. Kymma looked at her half-siblings, just realizing she was the oldest out of them, she would be turning twelve in a week.

"You don't have to accept the quest if you don't want to." Said Chiron, noticing how nervous she looked. Kymma swallowed her jittery feelings and tried to look at the situation logically. She had just got to camp Half-Blood, and had not yet had any training, plus, she would turn twelve in a week, and her scent would reach her peak then. On the other hand, she was pretty skilled with the bow and arrow, and she had killed monsters before she had gone to camp. Also, she was the oldest of the Apollo campers, if any other tried to go, there was a bigger chance of them getting hurt. There was no way she was letting her new found sibling get hurt.

"I accept the quest." Said Kymma, sitting up a little straighter.

"Excellent." Said Chiron, clapping his hands "Every quest must have three members, now would be a good time to pick your two companions."

"Ray Vasilios" said Kymma without hesitation; he was a friend she knew she could trust, "And, uh," she looked around the ping pong table, wondering who else to take. Then, one of her siblings stood up. Kymma recognized her as Audrey Lucus.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to request coming as well." She said, "One of my best friends was an Apollo camper, and now I just found out he's my half-brother. If this is a rescue mission, I want to be part of it. I'm not too young, you're just barely older than me, and I've been at camp for a year now and I probably know how to fight monsters just as well as you do."

Kymma looked at Audrey with a bit of surprise; she had never seemed like a very outspoken girl. But now, her jaw was clenched, her face set with determination. She stared at Kymma, as if daring her to not let her come along.

"Alright," said Kymma, not having a better option.

"Very good." Said Chiron, "You two go get Ray and see the oracle. You can begin your quest tomorrow. The rest of you go tell your cabins to get to bed, it's far past the curfew. This meeting is adjourned."

The councilors rose from their seats around the in gong table and exited the Big House. Almost all the campers were anxiously waiting outside. The councilors began to usher them back to their cabins. Remembering that she was the temporary councilor, Kymma turned to her siblings.

"You heard Chiron, its way past the curfew. You all know where the Apollo cabin is, fetch your stuff and bring it there. Audrey, you come with me, we'll find Ray and see the oracle." She said. The Apollo campers headed to the Hermes cabin to gather their belongings and Audrey fell into step besides Kymma as they headed to the Hephaestus cabin.

**Yay, they're going on a quest! What do you guys think so far? Also, I introduce a new character here, Audrey Lucas. She'll be a pretty big character, do you think I introduced her too quickly? Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

They bumped into Ray, literally, as he was heading into the cabin. Absorbed in a conversation about Helios, Kymma didn't realize where she was going until she bumped headfirst into someone.

"Sorry." She said, "Oh, it's you, Ray! We were looking for you."

"Well, you found me now. Hey Audrey." He said, "I heard you two were going on a quest, who's your third companion?"

"We came here to ask you that same question. Do you want to come?" said Audrey. For a moment, Ray looked surprised.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, Kymma shook her head. "I'm there, have you gotten a prophecy yet?"

"No, we're on our way to the oracle now." Said Kymma.

"Alright, let's get going." He said, walking with the two girls. As they passed the cabins area, Kymma frowned.

"Doesn't she live in one of the cabins?" she asked.

"No, she lives in that cave over there." Said Ray, pointing to a small cave nestled in the hills. Kymma raised her eyebrows.

"Your oracle lives in a cave?"

"Hey, we didn't make that decision, our _dad _did." Said Audrey, relishing the word 'dad'. Kymma imagined what it must be like to not know who your parent was.

"He has… interesting taste." Said Kymma as they reached the cave. A thick, violet curtain hung over the entrance. Kymma took a deep breath, and pushed it aside, walking into the cave.

Kymma didn't know what she expected the oracle to be like, but she didn't expect it to be what she saw. A snoring, high school-aged girl was sound asleep on a bed, frizzy, red hair falling onto her face. Ray and Audrey followed her into the cave, and Ray immediately groaned.

"Urgh, Rachel's a nightmare to get up." He said, walking over to the girl. He began to shake her violently. No reaction.

"Uh, _she's_ the oracle?" asked Kymma. Ray smirked at her.

"You're lucky she's asleep, if she heard you say that she'd nail you with her blue plastic hairbrush before you could say Zeus."

"Her _blue plastic hairbrush?_" said Kymma. This oracle was sounded weirder by the second. Ray ignored her.

"Oi, Rachel!" he practically shouted. She still didn't move. Audrey sighed and walked over.

"There's only one way to get Rachel up." She said. Searching through the bedside table, she pulled out a small, flute. Leaning close to Rachel's ear, she blew a high, clear note.

"Argh!" Rachel cried, sitting up and clutching her ear. "What do you not understand in _not in the ear! _I've told you before, _not in the ear!_"

"Good morning, Ratchel." said Ray, who was holding back laughter, but one death glare from Rachel shut him up.

"Sorry, Rach. That's the only way to get you up." Said Audrey.

"It's fine, I guess." Said Rachel, pushing off the covers. "Hi Ray, and who're you?"

"Kymma." Said Kymma, shaking her outstretched hand.

"Rachel Dare." She replied, "What's up, guys? Why are up at this time, it's way past the curfew."

"You didn't hear what happened at the campfire?" asked Audrey.

"No," said Rachel, frowning, "I could hear a lot of commotion there, what happened?" Kymma explained what happened and about the Big House meeting that followed.

"So you're here for a prophecy." Concluded Rachel. Kymma nodded. Rachel smiled. "I think I can help you with that. Oracle of Delphi, at your service."

There was an awkward silence.

"So, uh, can you prophecy for us already?" asked Kymma

"Hey, the Oracle only speaks through me occasionally. I don't control when-" suddenly, she groaned, doubling over. When she straightened up, her eyes where glowing a startling, emerald green. Green mist spewed from her mouth as she began to speak.

_"A freedom mission shall head west_

_Faced by the sun titan's very best_

_And under the sun titan's broken shrine,_

_The sun god's spawn lays, confined._

_At the desperate moment, there shall be a betrayal,_

_And without great sacrifice, the quest shall fail."_

Rachel collapsed, and when she stood up, her eyes were normal color. She groaned and clutched her head like she had just had a nasty headache.

"What was the prophecy?" she asked.

"Not good." Said Ray. He repeated the prophecy to Rachel.

"Definitely not good." She said, "You guys'll be in for a hard quest." Audrey nodded grimly.

"We should better get to sleep, we start the quest tomorrow." She said. Ray and Kymma silently agreed and they bid goodbye to Rachel and left the cave.

"I don't like the sound of that prophecy." Said Kymma, "The part about the betrayal is worrying."

"We need to careful about new allies we make, they could betray us." Said Ray.

"What do you think it means about the sacrifice?" asked Kymma. Ray shrugged,

"Prophecies are never specific, but they'll always happen, one way or another." He said.

"Bummer." Said Kymma.

"See you two tomorrow then?" he said. Audrey and Kymma nodded and they headed to the Apollo cabin. Most of the campers were already asleep, and Kymma tried her best to follow their example.

Since all the children of Apollo had similar personalities, the Apollo cabin was absolutely perfect in Kymma's opinion. The walls were painted a bright, sunny yellow and there were huge windows to let in lot's of light during the day. Art easels and supplies littered many desks around the cabin, and next to each bed was an old-fashioned mp3 player and a set of headphones, but Kymma was too nervous to enjoy any of it. She tossed and turned all night, and when she finally drifted off into sleep, sleep, she was promptly greeted by nightmares.

Even before she knew she was a demigod, Kymma's dreams had never been exactly pleasant, and now that she was fully aware of what she was, they seemed to get ten times worse.

She was standing in a dark room, it's tall ceiling loomed so high above her she couldn't even see it. Only light I could see came from a bronze brazier. A weak, frail voice at the end of the hall caught her attention.

"T-they have began a quest, m-my lord." It said.

"Excellent." Said another, deep, throaty voice. Kymma recognized it at once, remembering the voice from the campfire. Helios. She listened intently as it continued,

"How is our operation coming along?"

"T-they have broken almost half of t-the enchantments, m-my lord." Said the second voice. It was a very high pitched, feminine voice, and although it sounded vaguely familiar, Kymma couldn't place where she had heard it. "T-the ophiotaurus shall be ours within two weeks."

"Very good, once I have it, I shall overthrow that despicable excuse of a god, Apollo." He said, Kymma felt anger rise in her chest as he insulted her father.

"M-my lord, what of the Apollo spawn?" said the other voice.

"As soon as Apollo has been defeated, I shall use them for my own entertainment." He said, letting out a short, cruel laugh, "It will be amusing to see them forced to kill each other, perhaps in gladiator fighting."

"And m-my fate, m-my lord?" asked the second voice.

"You, my dear, have served me well. You shall have a special reward when our victory has been achieved." Said Helios.

"Thank you, my lord." Said the other voice, and Kymma woke with a start.

It was nine o'clock, sunlight streamed through the many, large windows of the Apollo cabin. Kymma hurried out of bed, and saw Audrey packing a blue backpack. She quickly changed into a new Camp Half-Blood tee shirt and an old pair of jeans, pulled a comb through her hair, and walked over to Audrey.

"Audrey, what's an ophiotaurus?" she asked. Audrey frowned,

"Why do you ask?" she said.

"I just wanted to know." She said.

"It's a mythological creature, part bull part sea serpent. It's said that if someone sacrifices it, they shall have the power to overthrow the gods."

"Wow." Said Kymma, "Good thing it was just a dream."

"What dream?" asked Audrey, snapping to attention, "Demigod dreams are never 'just dreams', they're things that are actually happening. Or messages. Or omens. Or warnings. Or-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Said Kymma, "Dreams are bad."

"So what did you see?" asked Audrey. Kymma related the dream to her, and when she finished, Audrey's brow was furrowed with worry.

"This is _not_ good." She said, "If Helios gets his hands on the Ophiotaurus, there's no way anybody can stop him."

"Do you think this is the sacrifice the prophecy talks about?" asked Kymma, "_And without great sacrifice, the quest shall fail_?"

"Quite probably, do you think it means _we're_ supposed to try and get the ophiotaurus before Helios?" asked Audrey.

"It's currently on Olympus being guarded, right?" asked Kymma, Audrey nodded, "Helios said that in two weeks they would break the protection. We just need to rescue our siblings _before_ then, and warn the gods that the ophiotaurus might be stolen."

Audrey nodded. "You get ready for the quest, I'll tell Ray about what you saw." And she left the cabin. Kymma pulled out a worn shoulder bag from under her bunk, throwing in a spare change of clothes, nectar, ambrosia, a few golden drachmas, and a quiver full of celestrial bronze-tipped arrows. She shouldered her bow and was about to leave when she noticed something on her bedside table that she swore it wasn't there a second ago.

She walked over and saw it was a tiny, leather pouch with a sun stitched onto the front. It was attached to a string, so it could be hung around her neck. Underneath it was a note. Kymma picked it up curiously. She figured it would take her an hour to read, because of her dyslexia, but it was written in Greek. It read,

_Keep this with you; it will give you what you need in emergencies. Go kick Helios's big, bright, butt for me._

_-Your amazingly awesome Dad,_

_Apollo_

Kymma stared at the not in amazement, then carefully picked up the pouch, as if it was made of solid gold, and strung it around her neck, tucking it into her shirt. She pocketed the note.

"Thanks, Dad." She said quietly, then headed outside. Audrey and Ray were waiting for her in the courtyard.

"About time, slowpoke. I've been waiting here for hours!" Said Ray jokingly.

"Hey, I didn't take that long!" Kymma protested.

"Are you sure, because I've been waiting here for an hour too!" bantered Audrey.

"Not you too!" Kymma said exasperatedly, as they walked out of camp. Kymma had only been there for one day, but she already felt she was going to miss it as they began their quest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Everybody!**

**I'm SOOOOOOO sorry I haven't updated in so long. I was just busy with...with...oh, who am I kidding, I don't have an excuse, I'm sorry guys. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'll be putting Kymma x Ray stuff in this one, but this is my first attempt at romance, people! Don't judge. Well, hope you enjoy it!**

As soon as they were off Half Blood Hill, the security chief, Argus, began driving them to the nearest convenience store. Audrey Ray turned to her.

"When we reach the city, where are planning on going then, captain?" Ray asked. Kymma realized with a start that _she_ was the leader of the quest, she was the one who would know what to do and where to go.

"Well, there's one good thing the prophecy did." She said, "_And under the sun titan's broken shrine, Apollo spawn lays confined. _We know where to go now._"_

"Yeah, but where exactly is '_The sun titan's broken shrine'_?" asked Audrey. Ray clutched his chin thoughtfully.

"There's this old shrine in Los Angeles, I went there on a class field trip years ago. If I recall, it was a shine for Helios. It's in ruins now; I wouldn't be surprised if they demolished the site already." He said.

"That's probably where they are!" said Kymma, then, an idea began to form in her mind, "There's an entrance to the underworld in los Angeles, right?" the other two nodded, "Well, the prophecy specified _under_ the shrine."

Audrey gasped, "'Do you think he's holding them in the underworld?!" Kymma nodded gravely.

"But how exactly are we gonna' get from here to Los Angeles in twelve days?" asked Ray.

"Plane?" asked Kymma. Ray shook his head,

"Not enough money." He said.

"Figures." Said Kymma, sighing. "So we get there any other way, bus, cab, anything."

"Good with me." Said Ray. The trio sat in the car in silence for a while, until Kymma's ADHD forced her to begin another conversation.

"We have to be on guard for monster attacks." Said Kymma.

"Well, duh." Said Ray, "Demigods _attract_ monsters."

"I mean worse monsters than usual." she said, "The prophecy said '_Faced by the sun god's very best'_, if he's gonna' send his best solders at us, we have to be on guard."

"You've got a point there." Said Audrey, "Should we keep our weapons out?"

"No, mortals will notice." Said Kymma, who was beginning to hear the sound of cars in the distance.

"The mist will cloud their vision." Audrey protested.

"Still, if they see something other than arrows or a sword, it'll probably be guns." Said Kymma. Audrey put her bow and quiver of arrows back into her backpack.

"Who do you think Helios's 'best' is?" asked Audrey.

Kymma shrugged, "No idea, we'll just have to be ready for anything."

The sound of crowds of people and cars was definitely audible by now, and Kymma could see streets behind a small convenience store up ahead. Argus stopped the car in front of it and looked at them.

"Thanks, Argus." Said Kymma, climbing out of the car, followed by Ray and Audrey. Argus gave them a thumbs up, then turned the car around and drove off back to camp.

"We could stock up food while we're here." Said Ray, walking into the convenience store.

"Then we'll hitchhike our way to L.A.?" asked Audrey joked.

Kymma shrugged, "Got any other ideas, Miss Cheeky?" Audrey laughed but didn't say anything. Ray rushed to the food isle and returned with three bags of chips and candies. Kymma smirked.

"That's your idea of 'stocking up on food'?" she asked. Ray nodded sheepishly.

"Ray, be serious about this!" Audrey chided.

"Oh, I'm deadly serious, and I seriously think we should buy these." He said. Kymma rolled her eyes.

"We need to save our mortal money for getting to L.A." she said, "Ray, put those back and we'll leave." Ray dumped the chips and candies on the nearest shelf and the trio left the shop without buying anything. They left the shop and walked down the road for a while, talking idly about the prophecy and the quest, until they reached a bus stop.

"This is a good a place to start as any." Said Kymma, plopping down on the waiting bench. She felt a pang of guilt, realizing she had no idea what she was doing. She didn't know how to get them to Los Angeles, heck she couldn't even lead this quest! She was practically making things up as she went along. Seeing her glum expression, Ray seemed to figure out what she was thinking. He sat down next to her on the bench.

"It's like this on everybody's first quest." He said, "Nobody know exactly what they're doing, but everything falls into place after a while. So far, you've been a great leader, especially for someone who figured out they were a half-blood literally yesterday. Everything'll be fine." He said reasurringly, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Thanks Ray." She said, a smile forming on her face as she tentatively put her hand on his. He looked surprised for a second, then smiled back at her and slipped his own hand into hers.

Kymma tore her eyes from Ray to glare at Audrey, who had collapsed into a fit of hysterical giggles.

"Oh, don't mind me." She said between chuckles, "go back to whatever you were doing, lovebirds."

Kymma stood up, a mischievous smile on her face. "The next time you call me that, I will personally make sure that you-"

What exactly Kymma was planning to do was never revealed to Audrey, as her sentence was cut off when the bus arrived. The trio quickly boarded, paying the driver six dollars.

"This bus'll go all the way to L.A." said Kymma as they sat down on a seat, "But with a demigod's luck, I doubt we'll be able to ride it there straight."

"It's worth hoping." Said Audrey. Kymma stared out the window as the bus began to move. Audrey rummaged through her backpack then pulled out a book.

"Don't you have dyslexia?" asked Ray. Audrey nodded.

"This is gonna' kill my eyes, but I promised my mom that I'd work on my reading. She's an English teacher." she said. Ray smirked,

"Good luck with that."

"I'll need it." Said Audrey miserably as she squinted at the first page.

"So, uh, when we get to L.A., how are we gonna' get into the underworld?" asked Audrey, obviously trying to change the subject.

"We'll go to Helios's shine first. There's probably an entrance there." Said Kymma.

**TimeBreak TimeBreakTimeBreakHELLOTimeBreakTimeBreakTimeBreakTimeBreak**

ADHD was in a way a gift, as it provided half-bloods with essential battle reflexes, but when sitting in a bus for two hours straight, it was nothing less than pure torture. Ray had been fiddling endlessly with a few tools he had brought, Audrey had ditched the book she had been reading three times, and was still trying to read it, and Kymma was currently hanging upside down off the edge of her seat. At this point, Kymma almost _wanted_ a monster to attack. It would be more entertaining than this.

"Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?" asked Ray, who had just noticed that she was upside down off the edge of her seat.

"Not until there's something to do." She said. Ray shrugged,

"Fair enough." He said indifferently and he went back to fiddling with his tools.

Suddenly, the bus scene blurred, and then disappeared completely, replaced by a shattered image. Kymma sensed intense heat and power as an image of something vaguely shaped like a horse flashed through her mind. They were huge, and fiery, radiating severe, blistering heat. Kymma knew at once they were some sort of monster. They were galloping towards something, at incredible speed. Their fiery hooves making burn marks on the pavement they were running on. There was something trying to slow them down, but was obviously no match for them.

Then Kymma was someone else. Some _thing else. _She was chasing something , she needed to catch it. It was her one aim. Catch it, she could smell it getting closer. Almost there...almost there.

The image shattered. Kymma was still on the bus, hanging upside down. She immediately pulled herself right way up. She felt beads of cold sweat sliding down her face as she breathed heavily.

"Are you okay?" asked Ray, his eyes brimming with concern. Audrey was looking at her as well.

" 'Course I am, why wouldn't I be?" she asked shakily, wondering if she had passed out.

"You closed you eyes for half a second and when you opened them you were all sweaty and looked like you've seen a ghost." Said Audrey.

"Oh, uh…" Kymma racked her brains for an explanation, "I gotta' use the bathroom. Be right back." She lied, rushing pat her two comrades to the back of the bus. She rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Looking at her reflection in the dirty mirror, she saw a girl she had never seen before, with wild eyes. Her face was white as chalk.

What had she just seen? Had she fallen asleep somehow and had a demigod dream? No, Audrey said she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds. She was jolted out of her thoughts by a banging on the door.

"Kymma, get out of there!" called Audrey's voice. Kymma sighed and opened the door. Audrey was waiting eagerly for her.

"Did you have a vision?" Audrey asked as soon as the door opened. Audrey began dragging Kymma back to their seats.

"A vision?" Kymma repeatedly blankly.

"Apollo is the god of prophecies." Said Audrey, lowering her voice slightly, "His kids sometimes have visions of the future or present." They reached their seats and sat down. Ray was staring at Kymma with a half worried half curious expression on his face.

"I…I guess it could've been a vision." Said Kymma. "I just saw a bunch of random images." Ray and Audrey's faces both acquired identical looks of shock.

"That's amazing." Whispered Audrey, awe in her voice. "Children of Apollo sometimes get visions of the future, but it'll only happen once, or maybe twice in a lifetime. And that's if you're lucky!"

Slowly, things began to make sense. So those flashes of images began to make sense. It was a vision of the future. A small grin wormed it's way on to Kymma's face. She, of all children of Apollo, had had a vison!

"Have you ever had one?" Kymma asked Audrey curiously.

"Had a what?"

"A vision."

"Oh, no." she said, a hint of longing in her voice, "I heard Will Solace had a vision before the Titan war, and June Walters had one during the Giant war…"

"Cool!" said Kymma excitedly, "What did they see in-"

"What did _you_ see?!" Audrey asked, cutting off Kymma due to her eagerness.

"Well, first I just felt things. Heat, and _a lot_ of power. ThenI saw this giant horse thing. It was made entirely of flames. It was chasing something, and there was something else trying to slow it down. It was all fuzzy, I couldn't make out too many details…"

Rays brow was creased with concentration. "There was this old Greek dude who wrote a poem about Helios. Or, more specifically, his Horses." Began Ray, "The Horses of Helios or something. They were described as 'fiery steeds'. When he was the sun-god, they would pull his chariot around and if there was a threat, he would send them at the attackers."

Kymma's eyes widened, "The second line of the prophecy!"she exclaimed, "_'Faced by the sun god's very best._ It's got to mean the horses! And in the vision, I saw them chasing us!"

"Not necessarily." Said Audrey, "The thing you saw could happen at any time, it doesn't have to be right away. For all we know, it could be ten years from-"

"Uh, hate to burst your bubble," said Ray, whose face was pressed up against the window to see behind the bus, "But, I think the vision Kymma had is happening. Now. As in _right now_."

_"What?!_" Audrey and Kymma said in union. Kymma couldn't help but think the shock on Audrey's face looked somewhat forced. But the thought was quickly pushed out of her mind as she rushed to the window to see what had captured Ray's attention.

_Horses_ were not an appropriate word to describe the monsters behind the bus. Four, huge, fiery forms chased after the vehicle, each as big as at least a truck. They were gigantic, muscles bulging out from every possible place. Their forms were completely consumed with white-hot flames, with malicious, soulless red eyes standing out from their white bodies. Being children of Apollo, Kymma and Audrey could look at the horses directly, but Ray had to squint to make out their brightly glowing forms.

The four steeds chased after the bus, sparks flying from the pavement as their hooves hit the street, not that it made a difference to them. They were already engulfed in flames. _Made _of flames. They barreled down the street, knocking cars aside like matchsticks. The street behind them was the very definition of chaos. Vehicles swerved to avoid the monsters, their drivers honking angrily at the beasts, although the mist made them appear like something much less terrifying. Perhaps a bunch of trucks?

But what awed Kymma the most, more than the power of the mist or the horses themselves, was a third object in the scene. The only reason the monsters had not reached the bus already. Weaving through lanes of cars, and fighting like a demon, was a tiny boy. He couldn't be more than eight, or nine. But running in front of the monsters, his dirtied sand colored hair falling over his eyes, his face set with determination, he was waving what looked like a metal crowbar, and somehow, miraculously, slowing the fire horses pace. The horses shot fire at him and charged at him, but he seemed to dodge all the attacks, every once and a while lunging at the horses to whack them with his crowbar. Who _was _that guy? A half-blood, or some crazed clear-sighted mortal?

The three demigods exchanged glances of awe. But it was clear that the boy was only slowing the horses down slightly, there was no chance of them being killed.

"We're getting off." Said Kymma, shouldering her backpack. Without hesitation, the three demigods stood up and ran down the aisle, jumping off the still moving bus, and leaving behind a very confused driver as they sprinted down the road.

Kymma grabbed her bow out from the depths of the backpack, and shouldered her quiver of arrows. Audrey was doing the same, and Ray was already building something, pulling tools and gadgets from his pockets endlessly.

As she ran, Kymma notched an arrow, aiming it carefully at the horse that the horse closest to the boy. He was retreating now, and the horse shot out another plume of flame. He dodged behind a car to avoid being hit by the fire. She let her arrow fly, and it struck the horse in the crest. Sand began to spill from the wound, but the horse seemed to be healing itself. Sunlight hit the horse, giving it energy and healing its wounds. If they wanted to defeat these things, Kymma knew they were going to have to get them out of direct daylight.

Meanwhile, the boy was in shock, staring at the three charging demigods with pure shock on his face. This hand was clutching his crowbar, as if deciding if he should attack the horses or them. Two horses began to charge him.

"Out of the way!" shouted Audrey, rushing over to the tiny boy and shoving him out of the path of the horses, just barely managing to keep from being trampled herself. The horses galloped passed the two of them, then turned back to face them, with surprising agility Kymma never expected to see from a horse.

Audrey notched two arrows, and the horses began to charge at the two of them. Audrey let the arrows fly, one found its target while the other missed the second horse by a hairs width, impaling itself through a terrified drivers windshield. Mortals began to scream and flee the scene, running around the many abandoned cars.

Steeling her nerves, Kymma notched another arrow and charged towards the two horses by Audrey and the boy. She let her arrow fly at the already wounded fire-horse, and it impaled itself in the horses' flank. Sand spilled from the wound, but it immediately began to heal. The horse retreated to a safe distance, while its three other, equally annoying friends began to gallop in Kymma and Audrey's direction.

"Why won't they die!?" screamed Audrey when Kymma reached her side, forming a human wall in front of the boy.

"The sunlight is healing them!" said Kymma, "We need to get them somewhere dark!"

"Who _are _you people!?" said the boy behind them, his voice filled with both awe and suspicion.

"Kymma, Audrey." Was all Kymma could manage as she dodged a plume of flame from Ugly Horse #1, and shot an arrow at Ugly Horse #2. She couldn't see what Audrey was doing, but she hoped she was handling Uglies #3 and 4.

"Ray! Little help here!" Kymma shouted at Ray, who was building something that looked like a Frisbee in one hand, while holding a sword in the other hand. Kymma had never seen him use a sword, and knew he preferred to use machines.

"Hand to hand combat was never my strong point! Give me some cover while I build this thing!" He shouted, bolting behind an abandoned car.

_Sure, _thought Kymma dryly, _We'll fight for our lives, while you go ahead and have fun playing with your tools. _Even so, she turned her attention to Ugly Horse #1 and 2, number two was still recovering from the arrow in its shoulder, but number two was in tip top shape.

It shot flames at Kymma. Caught off guard, she dodged a split second too late. The arm of her sweater caught fire, white hot flames feeding off the cloth and searing her skin. Yelping, Kymma quickly shed the sweater. Ignoring the pain from her burned arm, Kymma grabbed another arrow from her fast emptying quiver.

The horse charged her, and Kymma let of her arrow, letting it lodge itself right between the horses gleaming red eyes. It let out a very loud, high pitched whinny, which Kymma could only assume was a yelp of pain or something similar. It retreated back a few feet, only to be whacked repeatedly on the head by the boy's crowbar. The horse neighed angrily, and shot fire at the boy, who yelped and jumped back.

Kymma had only two arrows left, and was about to pull one out, when she quickly thought better of it. The horses would only heal themselves, and then attack endlessly. She needed to get them into a dark place, where they couldn't heal themselves.

The first horse was healed completely, and began to slowly trot towards Kymma, a malevolent gleam in its eye. Kymma felt something around her neck grow heavy as she slowly backed away from the monster. Glancing down, she saw the leather pouch her father had given her, still strung around her neck. Only now, it was twice its normal size, bulging with content. _This will give you what you need in emergencies,_ her dad had said.

Excitement growing, she darted behind a nearby car and dumped out the contents of the pouch, but her heart sank as she saw what she was holding. A coil of rope, six gears, and another tool Kymma didn't recognize. How were these supposed to help her?

Suddenly, Ray leaped behind the car she was hiding behind, panting, and still holding his Frisbee-like contraption. His sword was gone. He glanced at Kymma, and his eyes widened as he saw what she was holding.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, snatching the knick-knacks from Kymma's grip. His hands instantly set to work, tinkering with the Frisbee-thing and the new tools. He took part of the Frisbee apart, installed the rope the few new gears, and after he looked satisfied, he stood up, and threw his contraption at the two horses that were charging at him and Kymma. The strange machine spiraled downward, and as soon as it hit the horses' hooves, ropes sprung from holes all over the Frisbee-thing, binding the two horses' legs together tightly. Unable to move their legs, the fire horses swayed on the spot for a few seconds, then fell to the ground on top of each other with such force they cracked the pavement.

Ray sprinted out from behind the car, followed closely by Kymma. They cautiously approached the flailing monsters. They kicked and squirmed on the ground, but on the ground in a tangled heap, the two beasts couldn't get up, much less attack.

Ray grinned, and Kymma felt relief wash over her, only to be replaced with panic as she heard a cry of pain. Audrey and the other boy were nowhere in sight, and neither were the other two fire-horses. Kymma glanced at Ray, and they took off running the commotion. Kymma could hear sirens wailing in the distance, and she wondered how much time they had until the mortal police arrived. When they did, there was going to be serious trouble. Cars were broken and overturned, and there were several fires in the place the fire-horses had shot flames.

Kymma spotted Audrey and the boy standing between two houses, the rooftops shielding the sun from reaching them. Two fire-horses were closing in on them. The younger boy was clearly terrified, but held his crowbar out defiantly.

"There!" she shouted to Ray, who was still looking for the other two elsewhere. He rushed over,

"How do we kill them? Their wounds will just heal." He said,

"Only in the sun." said Kymma, notching two arrows, aiming them carefully at the fire-horses. _'Let this work.' _She silently prayed, and the launched her arrows. They hit the two horses on their backs, and without the sun to heal them, they exploded into dust.

Kymma sighed with relief, and rushed over to Audrey and the boy.

"You two okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Said Audrey, looking at the place the two monsters had disintegrated.

"We're fine." Said Ray, who had come to join them.

"No! No, this is _not _fine!" the sandy-haired boy shouted, stumbling away from the trio, holding his crowbar out at them. "Who are you!? Why do you see the monsters?! Are you demigods, like me? Why are you here? Are you-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, kiddo'." Said Ray, "We're not gonna' hurt you."

Slowly, the boy lowered his crowbar, but never stopped eyeing them suspiciously. "Who are you?" he finally said.

Kymma was about to reply when she spotted several police cars pulling up, as well as a team of fire-fighters. "I'd love to do introductions now, but the mortal police are coming. We gotta' get going."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" said the boy, backing away.

Audrey grabbed his arm, "You say you're a demigod, kid?" she asked roughly. The boy nodded. "Then you've got to come with us."

"No!" screamed the boy, he began to kick, struggling to break free from Audrey's grasp.

"_Audrey!" _Kymma chastised, "Let him go." She crouched down so she was eye level with the boy, "Listen, we're demigods too. Monsters will always attack us, and you too, but if you come with us, we'll protect you, and train you. Unless you want us to hand you over to the police, I suggest you come."

After scrutinizing Kymma for a moment, the boy yanked his arm free from Audrey. "Fine." He grumbled, " But if this is a trap…" He trailed off, deciding what to finish his threat with. Despite his grim tone of voice, Kymma found it hard to take the nine year old seriously.

"Good, now let's get going." Said Ray, and the four half-bloods sprinted down the road, running to nowhere in particular. The bus was long gone, and Kymma had no idea where to go next. As she ran, she picked up fallen arrows that she had shot, until her quiver was sufficiently filled. She noticed that Ray had retrieved his sword. _At least one line is down_ thought Kymma grimly, her mind on the prophecy. _Faced by the sun titan's very best, _according to Ray, the fire-horses were what Helios sent at his enemies. In other words, his 'very best'.

**TimeBreakTimeBreakTimeBreakHELLOTimeBreakTimeBreakTimeBreakTimeBreak**

As the sky had turned dark, they finally stopped at an extremely old, worn down inn. Kymma wouldn't have been surprised if the building had been condemned at some point. Exhausted and haggard, they stumbled into the lobby. The place stank of smoke and other unpleasant smells Kymma couldn't identify.

A fat, tattooed man glanced up at them glanced up at them from behind the front desk. Kymma quickly rented a room, paying the guy twenty dollars (pitying their state, Kymma was sure the man had given them a discount.)

Finally able to rest, Kymma collapsed onto the bed in their room. She laid there for a few seconds, then quickly got up and rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a bag of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. The demigods were in worse shape than Kymma thought, they all had angry, red burns all over their bodies, and many cuts, scrapes, and bruises. She broke the first square of ambrosia into four pieces and tossed one to each of her comrades. Ray and Audrey ate theirs quickly, but the boy just stared at his, then eyes Kymma distrustfully.

"Eat it, it'll help." Urged Kymma. The boy didn't move. Rolling her eyes, Kymma grabbed the ambrosia from his hands and took a bite. The taste of warm, freshly backed brownies filled her mouth. The type she and her mom would make together. The red burn mark on her arm began to turn back to normal skin color.

"There, convinced it's not poisoned now?" she asked, tossing the ambrosia back to the boy. This time, he quickly ate it, his eyes widening at the taste. Kymma noticed how skinny he was, as if he had not eaten for days.

"So, what's your name, kiddo'?" asked Kymma as she stuffed bit more ambrosia into her moth, careful not to eat too much.

"Alex Wilson." Said the sandy-haired kid. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kymma, this is Audrey, and Ray."

"And you're demigods?" asked the newly christened Alex, pushing his bangs out of his blue eyes.

"Yup." Said Ray, "The two girls are kids of Apollo, and I'm a child of Hephaestus."

"So…I'm not the only one?" asked Alex. Kymma could practically _see_ loneliness in his eyes being replaced with the tiniest bit of hope.

"Yeah," said Kymma, smiling kindly, "The Greek gods all have lots of kids. I bet you have a lot of siblings, do you know who your godly parent is?"

"My dad is Hermes." Said Alex without hesitation.

"Oh, yeah, you have a lot of siblings." Said Ray. A grin spread across the nine year-olds face.

"Really? Can I meet them? Who are they?" he said, his features alight with happiness.

"All demigods go to a special camp, where they'll be safe, and learn to fight monsters like those ones." Said Kymma.

"You're a pretty good fighter, kid." Remarked Ray, " But a crowbar isn't the ideal weapon." He pulled out his sword from his belt and held it out to Alex. "See how this suites you."

Alex looked momentarily shocked, but then took the sword from Ray. Surprisingly, it wasn't too heavy for him. He swung it around a bit, then looked up at Ray. "This is awesome!" he cried, his sentence ending in a squeak. Ray smiled,

"Until you get a better weapon, go ahead and hang onto that." He said.

"Where will I get a better weapon?" asked Alex,

"Camp." Said Kymma simply. "You'll meet your sibling there too."

"Is that where you're going?" asked Alex eagerly. Kymma shook her head,

"We're on a quest." She said, "Do you know the sun god, Apollo?" Alex nodded, "Well, before he became the sun god, Helios was the sun titan. Now, Helios wants to rule the sun again. He's kidnapped all the children of Apollo, and we're going to rescue them, and bring down Helios." Kymma summed up. Alex looked at the three of them in awe.

"I wanna' help." He finally said, "I'm coming too." Ray smiled.

"I think we could use I fighter like you." He said.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up." Audrey interrupted, speaking for the first time. She looked at Ray and Kymma meaningfully, "Can I talk to you two…in private?" she added, glaring at Alex.

There was really no 'in private' in the tiny inn room, so Audrey simply lead the two of them to the other end of the room.

"What do you think you're doing, taking him with us?!" she asked angrily, but being sure to keep her voice down.

"What else do you say we do, throw him out on the streets?" asked Kymma, "There's no harm in taking him with us."

"Oh, yes there is." Retorted Audrey, "The prophecy talks about betrayal, _he could be the one that betrays us!"_

Ray snorted, "Oh please, Audrey, your being paranoid." He said, "The kid just found out he's not the only demigod in the world, and he had no training whatsoever. Look at him!" Kymma glanced over to see Alex attacking the armchair in the corner of the room with his new sword, muttering something that sounded like 'take that, monster!'

"Well, maybe he doesn't _look _like a threat but…just look at the facts!" said Audrey, "Helios would only send his horses after us if he _knew _we were on a quest. When Alex turned up, so did the horses. He could be a spy!"

"Audrey, he was _fighting _the horses when we saw him." Reasoned Kymma, "Besides, if, for some reason, he _did _betray us, he's no match for us."

"Well…what about his family?" asked Audrey, "He must have a mom, or siblings, or something." Kymma looked up at Alex.

"Hey Alex, who's your mortal parent, you mom?" she asked, "Do you need to get back to her?" Alex looked down, sadly.

"My mom died a few years ago. That's when my dad came, and told me what I was." He said dejectedly. Kymma turned to Audrey,

"There, you see, we can't just turn him onto the streets." Said Ray.

"Fine." Audrey huffed, "But just, be cautious of him anyway."

"Don't worry, Audrey, we will." Said Kymma.

"Excuse me, I think I should go stop him from pulverizing the armchair too much." Said Ray. Alex was still hacking at the armchair.

"We should get some sleep, we need to be up early tomorrow." Said Kymma, "We only have eleven days to get to Los Angeles."

After a hasty goodnight, Ray and Audrey crashed on the two beds while Alex and Kymma occupied the floor.

Staring up at the dark ceiling, questions and doubts bounced around in Kymma's mind. How where they going to get to Helios's shine _now?_ And Audrey had a point, Helios would only send his horses after them if he knew they were on a quest. That meant, someone had told him, they had a spy among them. Maybe it _wasn't _a good idea to take Alex with them…Eventually, Kymma drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

**Yay! The chapter is finished! You have no idea how much I've had to research to do this chapter. It doesn't seem like it, but it's a lot harder to write a story that is accurate with mythology than you think. By the way, this entire fanfic is mythically true, Helios isn't a figure of my imagination, nor are if fire-horses. Double-Yay! Alex is here! I've been dying to introduce that charecter, I have A LOT planned for him. Sorry again about the late update, I'll try to update sooner!**

**~Silverwing321**


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